Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that stands for a nouns. The words, I, you and he, she or it are pronouns.

Why
Pronouns

The following sentence does not have any pronouns, so it seems
repetitive:

John drove John's car to
John's workplace, where John met John's boss.

With pronouns we have:

John drove his car to his workplace, where
he met his boss.

By using pronouns to stand for John,
we replace four Johns
with he or
his.
Readers do not notice the repetition of pronouns as much as they notice
the repetition of nouns, so the sentence seems less repetitive.

Identifying Pronouns

If a word stands for a noun, then it is a pronoun. We can substitute a
noun for this word (usually a noun preceded with a or the), and the
sentence, or the clause, makes sense (with a minor change in the verb).
In the following sentence:

He
thinks this is true.

we can substitute a noun for he,
for instance, substitute the
speaker for he,
and we get:

The speaker thinks this is
true.

which makes sense, and shows that the word, he, stands for a
noun, and is therefore a pronoun.

Sometimes, when we apply this test, we need to change the verb so in:

I like to watch films.

We can substitute a noun, such as the
speaker, and get (after changing the verb):

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns relate a noun to a clause
which they introduce. They can be defining or restricting, or
non-defining and non-restricting. For instance:

The man who ate the food
was hungry.

If we ask who
ate the food, we find who
stands for the noun phrase, the
man. If we substitute the noun phrase, the man, for who in who ate the food,
the resulting sentence, the
man ate the food, makes sense. Therefore, who is a pronoun
because it passes our test.
It
is a relative
pronoun because it relatesthe man to ate the food. It defines (or at least
identifies) the man we
are referring too, and also restricts
the meaning of the man
to the particular man who ate the food. This use is therefore
restricting.

Restricting relative pronouns do not follow a comma. The clauses
with a relative pronoun are adjectival in function: they modify a noun.

Examples
of relative pronouns

that, which, who, whom, whose, when, where, and why

Restricting
and Non-Restricting Clauses

A non-restricting relative pronoun follows a comma, to indicate the
clause it introduces is not essential to define the noun. (The clause
should, however, be relevant). A restricting relative pronoun does not
have a comma.

The report that is most
relevant is in the book.

The word that
is a pronoun because it stands for the report.
Substituting this in
that is most relevant, we get:
the report that is most relevant. As this makes sense, that
passes our pronoun
test. It is a relative
pronoun because it relatesthe report
to most relevant.
It defines
the report, and
restricts
the meaning of the word report to the particular report that is most relevant.
There is no comma between the word that
and the noun phrase the
report.
We cannot omit this clause because it is essential to the meaning of
the sentence - it tells us which report we are talking about.

The word that
is special in that it is never preceded by a comma, and is always used
in the restricting sense. It is widely believed and taught that the
word which
is always used in the non-restricting sense. While it is true that that must never be
used in a non-restricting sense:

The Smith Report, that is
most relevant, is in the book.
The Smith
Report, which is most relevant, is in the book.

The report is defined already by the adjective, Smith, so we do not
need a defining clause. So we cannot use that.
Using which
without a comma, however, is also correct:

The report which is most
relevant is in the book.

It is sometimes better to write:

The report which caused
the controversy that brought down the government.

Than to write:

The report that caused the
controversy that brought down the government.

to avoid the "rata-ta-ta" of the repeating thats, but this is a
question of style, not grammar.

Our friend Tom, wholikes to sing in
the bath, visited the concert today.

The
word who
stands for the subject of the sentence, our friend Tom, and so
it is a pronoun. It is a relative pronoun because it relates Tom
to likes to sing in the
bath, but it does not define, or restrict the meaning of
the word Tom: our
friend Tom is a clear definition of who we are referring
to, and who likes to
sing in the bath
does not add any essential meaning to the sentence. In fact, it could
be dropped and the sentence would still be understandable (We would
still know who likes to sing in the bath). Because this clause is
non-restricting, we
separate it from the rest of the sentence with commas.

The place where
they found the treasure was on a desert island.

The word where
is a pronoun because it stands for the
place. It is a relative pronoun
because it relatesthe place
to they found the
treasure. It defines and restricts the place. There is
no comma after place.

The elephant that we
saw in the circus has escaped.

The word that
stands for the elephant,
and is a pronoun. It relatesthe elephant
to we saw in the circus,
and so is a relative pronoun. It tells us which particular elephant we
are referring to, so it defines and restricts the elephant. There
is no comma after elephant, because the
clause is defining or restricting.

Yesterday, we planned our
journey across the desert. The plan, which
is sound, will enable us to make the journey safely.

The pronoun, which,
does not define the plan (We know which plan from the previous
sentence). It is therefore neither defining nor restricting. We do not
begin the clause with that
here, but we begin with which,
and surround the clause with commas,
showing it is not essential to the meaning of the sentence (But it is
relevant.)

The reason why
they did it will never be known.

The word why
is a pronoun because it stands for the
reason. It relates, restricts and defines the reason, so it
is a relative pronoun. It is restrictive, so no comma.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns refer to someone or something that has not been
clearly identified. The indefinite pronoun
someonerefers to a noun,
but this noun is not definitely identified. It means a person in
general, or any person.

Any
and Some

Any is used
in negative statement and in questions. Some is used in
positive statements. Any
can be singular or plural.

Are there any people here?
Yes, there are some.
No, there aren't any.
No, none
have arrived.

Is anyone here?
Yes, someone
is waiting.
No, there isn't anyone
here.
No, no one
is here.

Gender
Problems

These are in the third person, and so their pronouns are he, she or it. As we do not
have a gender-free, third person singular personal pronoun, we get
sentences like this:

If anyone replies, ask himhis name.

If all those considered are male (or in the equivalent sentence using her and her, are all
female), then this is acceptable. However, when the replies can be from
either sex, we might wish to be clearer:

If anyone replies, ask him or herhis or her name.

We can say:

If anyone replies, ask themtheir names.

This is what I would say.
It is grammatically incorrect, because, at present, anyone is singular,
and them
and their
are plural. (Perhaps in the future this will be allowed).

However, much better in writing:

If there are any replies,
ask them their names.

That is, we say it in a different way, retaining correct grammar and
good style. The difference, here, between speaking and writing, is that
when speaking we are usually present to defend our sentence (and
perfect grammar is not expected in speech), but when a
reader is reading our sentence we are not usually present so cannot
defend it.

Traditionally, he
can refer to either a male or a female; however, she is always
feminine. When she
is used, it definitely excludes males. However, when he is used, it does
not necessarily exclude females. It is less sexist to use he than to use she, when both
genders are referred to. If she
is used in a document to refer to both genders, this should be made
clear. (As should the use of he).

Demonstrative
Pronouns

We use the demonstrative pronouns, this,
that, these and those, when
pointing to
something or some things, or referring to something previously
mentioned.

Examples

The
pronouns this,
that, these and those can be pure
pronouns, or both pronouns
and determiners.
As determiners, they appear before a noun, and tell us
which noun we are talking about. For example, that woman refers to a
particular woman who is being pointed out or has been mentioned
earlier, or otherwise identified.

Pronoun

Comment

Determiner and Pronoun

That
is the woman who pressed the button.

that
is a pronoun because it stands
for 'the woman over there'.

That
woman pressed the button.

He gave me this.

this
is a pronoun because it stands
for 'the thing here'.

He gave me this
report.

Of all the flowers in the garden, these
are the ones I like best.

these
is a pronoun because it stands
for 'the flowers here'.

These
flowers are the ones I like best..

Can I have some of those?

those
is a pronoun because it stands
for 'the things over there'.

I'd like those
chocolates, please.

Possessive Pronouns

Examples

The pen is my pen. The pen
is mine.
Is this your hat? Is this yours?
His car is in the garage. His is in the garage.
Her money has been paid. Hers has been paid.
Can you see their book? This one is theirs.
Our time has come. Ours has come.

Interrogative
Pronouns

These pronouns are part of questions:

Who was there?

The interrogative pronouns are: what, which, who, whom,
and whose.

Reflexive
and Intensive Pronouns

The following are reflexive or intensive pronouns: myself, yourself,
himself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

Reflexive pronouns are used when the object of the action is the
subject. For instance:

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